Klonoa: Dream Weaver's Crests
by Aura24
Summary: Aiko and Allie are sisters living a normal life, but when they are chosen as the Dream Weavers, they must fullfill the prophecy of saving dreams with the help of Klonoa and his friends from the incoming threat of the darkness of nightmares that not only threatens Lunatea, but the real world as well.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** This is a revamped of my first Klonoa fanfic that included the human universe and the Klonoa universe in the same setting, _Klonoa: Dream Princesses_. The second was Chibikawa's _New, Interesting, and Unusual_. The background is set in an alternate universe from the other series like Klonoa Heroes. I always wanted to know what would it be like if Klonoa, his friends and their home were real and not just a game series. Enjoy the story!

**Story Summary:** Aiko and Allie are sisters, but when they are chosen as the Dream Weavers, they must fullfill the prophecy of saving dreams from the incoming threat of the darkness of nightmares with the help of Klonoa and his friends.

000

**Klonoa: The Dream Weavers' Crest**

**Prologue**

_This dream... _

_Is this real...?_

_The wind... it's blowing nicely..._

_I want to remember this._

Inside a local train station, on a warm, sunny day, endless crowds of people walked in and out in different directions, going to their destination as quick as they can. Black, train-like locomotives sailed along the divided tracks with white steams pouring through the funnels and into the clear air.

Among the flood of people were a pair of young girls. Aiko and Allie. They were sisters; Allie being the youngest, five years old, and Aiko being the oldest, seven years old. They were standing in line with their parents while waiting to get on board the train to back home. Allie was holding her father's hand, swinging it back and forth playfully as she waited patiently. Aiko was standing beside her mother, looking at the crowd passing by her. Soon, the line of people before them began to move along towards the train. Before they could have the chance to move forward, something unusual happened.

The crowd's movements started to move rather sluggishly, and suddenly everyone, the sky, the trains, and everything else had stopped in place, their bright colors were slowly dying to black and white. Silence had filled the air. Oddly enough, the only ones who weren't affected by this strange phenomenon were Aiko and Allie. They were slightly confused at what was happening, unaware that their very own colors were completely standing out of the monochrome, silent world around them.

Aiko looked up to her parents and noticed they weren't moving nor breathing at all. "Mommy? Daddy?" She said, gently tugging on her father's shirt, but neither him nor her mother her responded to their eldest daughter. It was almost if they were frozen in time.

Her little sister glanced around curiously, until she caught a glimpse of something in bright color other than herself, standing out of the black and white world around her. She turned to the colorful object and stared at it with growing curiousity, her eyes widening. Reaching back to her older sibling, the five year old tugged on her sister's shirt before the seven year old turned to her and looked at what she was looking at. She too, widened her eyes and slightly gasped at what her little sister saw.

Standing the mist of the black and white crowd, was a vibrant, blue and white, anthropomorphic creature. It wore normal clothes, and on its head were a pair of sharp, green eyes staring at the two girls, giving off an eerie yet non-threatening vibe. Two, long ears stood up on the creature's head, each possessing a yellow ring of fur; five, white claws served as its fingers, growing from its cobalt blue paws. The creature stood at the same height as that of a human teenager. But its notable feature was a gem-like crest hanging around its neck; it was shimmering softly as if it was reacting to something.

Aiko and Allie both blinked at the creature with curiosity. They had never seen an animal like it one before, especially when it stood on two legs like a human, and wears clothes and shoes like one.

As her older sister was standing there speechless, Allie got through her shock and asked the creature out of pure curiousity, "Who are you?"

In response, the blue creature only smiled warmly to the girls, its sharp green eyes softened as they glistened with the sunlight...

Suddenly, everything was moving again in an instant as time resumed flowing, and the crowd's original colors quickly flourished back to their clothes and bodies. The girls' parents began to move along with the crowd towards the train, but they were gently jerked back once they realized that their children weren't moving. The adults looked back to their children to see them staring at the crowds of civilians. At that moment, the girls realized that everyone and everything else was back to their original colors and moving again.

The creature had vanished without a trace as if it wasn't there at all. At that moment, they started to move along with their parents, still looking back at the spot where the creature once stood. They both followed their parents along with the crowd towards the train as its loud whistle pierced the air, followed by the flow of white steam emerging from its funnel. The young girls never knew who or what that creature was, they guessed it was a rabbit or a cat. They even said neither. But they always remembered what it looked like...

A blue, rabbitlike creature wearing a green, gem-like crest...


	2. Chapter 1: The Dream Crests

**Chapter 1: The Dream Crests**

_She felt herself falling... falling... and falling... into a dark, neverending void, drifting in the abyss between realities and dreams. A ten-year old Aiko couldn't explain where she was, or whether this place was real or was only her imagination. Her eyes were closed, and even though she can easily open them, she felt extremely tired, allowing herself to continue plummeting towards the endless void._

_**"Young weaver of dreams..."** A voice rang out softly around her; it sounded distant and gentle, **"You, and another, will have a role to play in the world of Lunatea..."**_

_Role...? Aiko opened her eyes slightly upon hearing the word. What.. role...?_

_A mysterious force angled Aiko's body right side up, allowing her to float down correctly until her feet touched what seemed like solid ground. Upon touching the invisible ground, the void below her began to be filled up with a lighter color, a light emerald gleam. Aiko shielded her eyes, at first blinded by the light, until she lowered her arms to gaze upon the newly lit void around her. Particles were rising from the glowing ground, floating upwards into the air around Aiko. The girl was mesmerized by the sight, staring up into space to look towards where the particles were disappearing to._

_She gazed back down to look at the landscape, only to find herself staring at an object that had materialized in front of her. It was a large yellow ring that was decorated with a single emerald jewel, which glowed rhymatically as if it was sensing the girl's presence. Aiko was slightly surprised, inspecting the ring curiously. She reached out to grab it, but it vanished into smaller particles as she closed her fingers on the ring's handle. As she wondered why the ring disappeared, the same voice from before emitted around her, **"You will not be alone, for the Traveler of Dreams will accompany you."**_

_Aiko looked around for the source of the voice only to look upon the gleaming landscape and the void that surrounded it._

_**"Your calling is near... The balance of dreams is at stake...save your world and Lunatea..."**_

_Aiko was still confused. What was the voice talking about? Lunatea? And... her world?_

_A cold chill suddenly gripped Aiko, causing her to stiffen up. She slowly glanced over her shoulder, and as a result, witnessed a mass of dark energy emerging from behind her. The girl jumped with fright and began stepping back in growing terror as a massive figure rose up from her shadow by itself and started to tower over the girl. Two, large and long arms pulled themselves out of the mass with the assistance of two, clawed hands as it pulled the rest of its body out of the darkness to stand on the floor. Its body was completely covered in shadow, hiding all traces of its appearance. A dark aura poured from the beast's hands, poisoning the coloring of the void's floor, replacing its vivid colors into a sickly dark purple as it expanded around Aiko._

_Once the monster was completely standing solid ground, a pair of red slits opened up to reveal large and cat-like, yellow eyes on the figure's massive head, slowly glancing around at its surroundings before laying its evil gaze upon Aiko._

_Terrified by the appearance of the creature, Aiko widened her eyes in fear, taking another few steps back as soon as the monster fully took form. She finally reacted by running away from the large behemoth, as it issued a earth-shattering bellow from its jaws at the fleeing girl. From the darkness of the void multiple black streaks flew by the beast and began homing in on Aiko. The girl looked over her shoulder as she ran, giving out a shriek at what she saw._

_Behind her, were a horde of black, demonic entities that strongly resembled anthromorphic animals. Their glowing red eyes screamed and snarled, as if angered by the girl and thirsting for her destruction. Aiko turned her head back around to frantically resume fleeing for her life with the horde of angry shadows chasing her._

_One of the animal-like shadows was hot on Aiko's heels, and suddenly made a lunge for her, only for the young girl to quickly twist to the side in time to avoid the grab. She ducked down, avoiding another lunge made by another spirit. Aiko, to her growing terror, noticed more and more spirits had caught up to her and were starting to surround her, joining in on the attack. They were surrounding her to prevent Aiko from escaping._

_Aiko froze in terror as the dark spirits drew closer and closer to her with each passing second; their chanting and chilling resonance roaring at her ears. She was whimpering, now in absolute danger. As the dark essences of the spirits' bodies start to swirl and engulf her, they suddenly charged at Aiko altogether for the kill-_

Aiko jolted up from her blanket covers with a frightened shriek, her eyes wide open, filled with terror. She found herself sitting up in her bed, partly blinded by the sunlight that was softly beaming down on her from her bedroom window, accompanied by the sound of birds singing faintly through the walls of her room. The girl glanced about while panting hoarsely, her eyes falling to her little, eight year old sister, Allie, who was still resting soundly beside her in bed.

Realizing that the horrifying experience was just a nightmare, Aiko shuddered softly and laid back slightly, feeling sweat trickling down her face. She lowered her head slightly, placing a hand on her forehead, partly wiping off the sweat. "Another one... another nightmare..." She muttered, shaking her head. Aiko sighed softly before gazing her eyes up to her window beside her. She stared off at the snow-covered meadows and hills, hoping it would soothe her uneasiness and help her get ready for the day ahead of her...

00000

Snowflakes drifted slowly from the sky as the cold air of winter gripped the meadow area. The sun was shining partly from the blanket of clouds that showered the land with snow, but was accompanied by the light winds that provided a cold breeze.

Beginning her walk home from school, Aiko was covered in warm clothes complete with a jacket to protect herself from the cold, gripping atmosphere of the winter weather. She glanced over to the playground nearby, seeing the children playing and undergoing a game of snowball fights and other winter activities. Although she would love to join in, Aiko had no time to play, as she was searching for signs of her little sister, Allie, so that they can get home early.

Aiko then caught sight of a pair of boys laughing to each other nearby and noticed somebody else was moving within a lump of snow that looked like the remains of a snow castle. The ten year old walked by the boys, not getting their attention, and proceeded to approach the crumbled snow castle. Aiko stopped in front of the small mount of snow and called out, "Allie." In response, there was movement within the demolished snow castle, and Aiko rolled her eyes and asked whoever was inside, "What did you do this time?"

The face of a small girl sheepishly nosed its way out of the mount of snow, staring up at Aiko. She looked around cautiously, spotting the two boys nearby before turning back to her older sister with pleading eyes, "You gotta help me!" Allie whispered, "Those boys are making fun of me again..."

Aiko rolled her eyes, "That's no surprise there."

"Aww, is baby Allie crying to her sister again?" A voice called over, as both Aiko and Allie glanced over to the boys, who currently have their attention on the two girls.

The other boy grinned to his companion in his bullying of Allie, "That's typical. She's always buttering up to that girl and cries to her daddy." Both boys snorted before they laughed cruelly together.

Aiko glared over at the boys, partly insulted. But she briefly glanced at Alllie, who emerged from her demolished snow castle, partially covered in snow. Aiko sighed, turning around to walk away, "Come on, Allie, they're not worth it." She gently ushered her little sister to follow, and Allie reluctantly did so.

"Yeah, walk away, baby girl!" One of the boys mocked, laughing.

The other boy added with a sneer, "Go back home to daddy!" He began to snicker, only to be suddenly pelted in the face by a snowball, sending him reeling back into the snow.

As the other boy looked over at his companion, he was plastered in the face by another snowball, falling back against the snow beside with his friend, groaning.

Nearby, Aiko was wiping off the loose traces of snow from her gloves, staring at the boys while walking off with Allie, having thrown the snowballs at the bullies to stop them from tormenting her little sister. "Still got it..." Aiko smirked smugly, satisfied at having dealt with the bullies, the non violent way, before turning around and following after Allie. They began walking along the forest path from the school grounds, away from the boys who were left laying in the snow and recovering the snow blows.

As Allie walked a little ahead, Aiko looked over at her somewhat sadly. She began to ponder. This was the latest incident of Allie being harassed by bullies.

Since their mother died, her death had a devastating impact on the girls and their father. Three years had past, and they are undergoing life without their mother, provided by the comfort of their father who struggled to do his job while looking after his two daughters. Sometimes, the girls occassionally were left in the care of their aunt and uncle when their father couldn't keep them whenever he had to work long hours. Luckily, today was Friday, starting the weekend that they would spend time with their father.

Despite still having their father, Allie was still struggling to let her mother's death go. As a result, the eight-year old had low confidence, not to mention she was timid, making her an easy target for the bullies who attend their school. There were several instances of Aiko having to defend Allie from the bullies, even resorting to fighting the tormentors when they escalated their harassment, which earned Aiko a few negative reports on her behavior for simply defending Allie.

Aiko sighed softly; she sometimes wondered if there was some way for Allie to gain the courage to stand up for herself for once. The ten year old knew that she couldn't fight for Allie forever.

The two girls soon reached a small river that laid in their path. Not wanting to get her shoes wet, Aiko looked over at a wooden log that rested nearby that acted as a bridge, and without hesitation, walked over to it. She jumped atop of the log and began steadily making her way across, keeping her balance steady.

Allie was left standing by the river's rocky shore, watching as her sister made her way across atop of the log.

Aiko glanced back to Allie, stopping briefly atop of the log, "Come on, Allie, try walking on this. You don't want to get your shoes wet again right?"

Allie's face turned slightly pale as she looked at the log, then glanced down at the small river below. "Um... maybe next time." She answered, slightly nervous. Allie stepped into the shallow river and walked across instead of taking the way Aiko was taking.

"Don't be such a baby, Allie." Aiko sighed, "It's no wonder the boys harass you."

Feeling insulted, Allie pouted at her older sibling once she had reached the other side of the river, facing Aiko, "I'm not a baby!"

"Seems like it." Aiko retorted, jumping off the other end of the log, joining Allie. They continued their journey back to their house, which laid several feet before them on the outskirts of town. Their eyes lit up when the girls noticed that the lights were on in the house, indicating that their father was home. Allie eagerly ran ahead, leaving Aiko to walk after her.

"Dad, dad!" Allie called, racing towards the house.

Hearing the voice, a tall man wearing a scarf opened the door, and Allie ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hey!" The father smiled warmly and embraced Allie, before looking over at Aiko, "How you girls been? Was school okay today?"

Aiko nodded with a smile, "Yeah school was fine. But, some bullies were making fun of Allie again."

Her father frowned slightly, "Oh, you didn't get any fights today did you?"

"No." Aiko shook her head, "But I did throw snowballs at the bullies."

Their father chuckled upon hearing this, "Well, that's one way of taking care of those boys. C'mon, girls, let's get out of the cold. You can tell me about your day once we settle in."

Allie cheered good-naturedly, scurrying inside the house with her father following her closely.

As Aiko entered the house, they were unaware of the peculiar high winds that began to sweep over the meadows of the snow-coated plains. And although it didn't frighten Aiko much, she did notice that as night began to close its dreary fingers over the area, the air seemed darker than she had ever seen it...

00000

Later that night, in the late hour of morning, Aiko was laying in bed, wide awake with thoughts filling her mind. Part of her wanted her to stay up to avoid getting another nightmare she had been suffering for days. She glanced sideways, noticing that Allie wasn't in bed with her. Aiko guessed that her little sister went to the restroom, or was simply sneaking into some late night snacks again.

Aiko then glanced over to the other side of the room, looking at her childish toys dangling from the edge of her plastic toy chest. Her eyes looked over to an old drawing she and Allie scribbled together when they were little; the drawing consisted of a blue, rabbit-like creature wearing a green gem-like crest they believed they saw in the past. Aiko looked away from the scribble drawing and gazed upon a family photo of her being together with Allie, their mother and father. She sighed softly, silently missing her mother.

Minutes had passed. Aiko exited out of the bathroom after having just finished her first trip. She began making her way back to the bedroom, where she hoped Allie was tucked in. As Aiko walked past the front door leading outside, she noticed that it was left cracked open as an invisible force blew in from the outdoors. Aiko didn't know what she felt, but she got the feeling that someone had opened the door and went out there.

"Allie, why...?" Aiko began, but shook away that thought. She went over to a nearby closet and grabbed ahold of her father's heavyweight jacket to protect her from the cold along with her pajamas. The ten-year old then hurriedly and quietly exited her way out of the house in her snow shoes, making her way through the snowy meadow with caution. She noticed the wind was blowing fiercely and saw a familiar figure wearing a coat standing near the edge of the hill nearby, gazing at the distance quietly.

"Allie, what are you doing out here?" Aiko called out softly, walking over to her little sister while ignoring the wind, "You know you're not supposed to be outside... Dad will be mad." There was no response. "Allie?"

Allie finally spoke, still staring out into the distance, "But there's something weird out here.."

As soon as Aiko reached Allie, the mysterious force she felt earlier became stronger and stronger. Allie was trembling, and so was Aiko. A feeling of anticipation seized the ten-year old, though of what she had no idea if she was dreaming or if any of this was real.

"Aiko-" Allie whispered hoarsely.

Aiko turned to Allie and saw that the eight year old's eyes were shining with a soft, blue light of their own. A shimmering green crest was glowing on her chest, shining along with her eyes, shimmering and piercing through the darkness. Aiko then noticed that a strange symbol was glowing on her sister's forehead, almost resembling two cojoined crescent moons with a pearl hanging over each of its edges. The ten year old wondered if her own eyes and forehead looked the same. She glanced down, and to her surprise, she also had a crest glowing on her chest. This frightened her.

"Allie, let's head back." Aiko instructed, feeling nervous on what was happening to her and Allie.

Blinking out of her stare, Allie turned to face Aiko, but suddenly, a large portal materiallized behind her, emitting an eerie, howling bellow. Aiko let out a shriek of surprise at the sight, and before she could react, a pair of large claws suddenly emerged from the depths of the void and seized hold of Allie in its grip.

Eyes wide with shock, Aiko issued a frightened scream, "**ALLIE!**" She immediately raced towards Allie, who let out a cry of fear before she was pulled into the void by whatever had grabbed her. Aiko, although hesitant at first, jumped into the void and found herself soaring through a portal at unimaginable speed. Despite the turbulence, the girl was able to see and comprehend what was happening around her. The tunnel she was in was eerily iridiscent, and particles were soaring by her as she was pulled through. Due to the unstability of the vortex, Aiko found herself trying to right herself up to avoid spinning around uncontrollably.

Glancing around, Aiko spotted a large shape within the tunnel. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of a large, batlike creature hovering ahead of her inside the tunnel, allowing itself to be pulled along with the turbulence whilst holding onto something struggling in its claws. Aiko widened her eyes when she saw Allie writhing in the grip of the monster, shrieking in pure terror and struggling to try and free herself. The beast looked somewhat amused by Allie's squirming, before opening its mouth, revealing a pair of fangs and rows of sharp teeth, accompanied with small strands of saliva that stretched between the side of its toothy jaws.

"_No!_" Aiko screamed, shrieking at the top of her voice as it broke. Although having no complete control over the turbulence of the portal, she aimlessly dove towards Allie and the monster that was about to devour her. Aiko neared Allie, and managed to grab hold of her in a futile attempt to pull her little sister free from the monster's approaching jaws that threatened to consume them both. The two girls both shrieked in growing terror, gazing upon the distorted, rippling void that laid beyond the monster's jaws that was set to be their doom. At that moment, a miraculous thing happened.

The green crests that were gleaming on the girls' chests began glowing in an emerald color before blasting forth a surge of blinding energy that expanded around them, painfully sending the bat-like beast reeling and causing it to release its grip on Allie. The monster snapped its jaws shut as it was blinded by the strange energy, resulting with the beast being blown back from the girls, disappearing into the depths of the vortex.

With the threat gone, both Aiko and Allie turned their attention back to each other and held onto each other's hands as best as they could, fighting against the force of the ethereal tunnel that pulled them further and further into who knows where. As the girls started to feel disoriented from the force of the vortex, they began seeing glimpses of each other shifting into blue, humanoid creatures; the mysterious occurence appeared distorted the more the girls felt themselves being pulled apart. Neither could tell if everything happening around them was real or a dream.

"Hold...on...Allie...!" Aiko moaned, struggling to keep her grip on her sister's hand as she tried in vain to stay conscious and avoid getting separated. However, the force of the tunnel was proving to be too much for them. Little by little, their hands began slipping from each other's grasp, until they were forcefully yanked apart, separating them both.

"Aiko...!" Allie screamed, her hand still left outstretched towards her sister before she was forcefully pulled back towards the abyss of the tunnel. As this happened, the green crest around her chest gleamed forth, and Allie's body was engulfed in an emerald glow before she was jettisoned into the tunnel's depths, vanishing out of sight.

Aiko shrieked in utter disbelief and terror, "Allie...!" She herself was unaware that the same emerald light had coated her body, generated by her green crest. Gasping in disbelief of losing Allie, Aiko couldn't explain what happened next. She felt herself shrinking and her body changing. And what's worse she was losing consciousness from the force of the tunnel as it transported her to wherever it took her. As soon as the glowing and shrinking form of Aiko vanished deeper into the vortex, immediately, her senses failed and everything went black...


	3. Chapter 2: Brave New World

**Chapter 2: Brave New World**

Moisture heavily coated the air. The shower of rain made itself known as it poured relentlessly against solid ground. A pair of eyes slowly opened, as their owner was brought out of her slumber by the rumbling chorus of thunder echoing from the heavens. Allie stirred and opened her eyes slightly further, finding herself staring up at the sky that was gray and cloudy.

"Ai..ko...?" She called out softly, only to receive no reply. Groggily, Allie sat up, immediately finding the task nearly difficult. Once she lifted the top half of her body and climbed to her feet, the girl wearily glanced about. Through her blurry vision, she noticed that she was in the middle of a dark forest area. _Where... am I...? _She thought faintly. It was no longer cold, but rather warm and extremely humid. There were no traces of white snow anywhere.

Still disoriented, she stumbled forward, but quickly caught herself by grabbing at the trunk of a large tree to keep herself from falling. Allie panted softly, rubbing her head to let the cobwebs clear away. The rain showered her relentlessly, disorienting her vision even further as raindrops leaked into her eyes. Her irises glanced over to the tree, and when she saw a blue paw with white claws instead of her hand, Allie thought she was dreaming. Maybe she was...

Suddenly, she sensed a presence approaching her from behind. Feeling a little relieved, Allie turned to whoever approached her. "Aiko...? WAAH!" She gasped sharply with wide eyes, having come face-to-face with a blue, googly-eyed creature. Allie quickly stepped back, but stumbled onto the ground when she performed the deed. Floating before was a blue, ghost-like creature with its tongue sticking out that seemingly looked at the girl innocently, "Plowmm...!" It squealed softly.

At first upon seeing how non-threatening this creature looked, Allie slightly eased her fear with a few sighs of relief. "U-Um...hi...?" She tried to greet the creature, smiling nervously as she did.

In response, the blue creature at first tilted its head cutely at Allie. Suddenly that cute demeanor melted away in an instant as the creature's innocent smile formed into a large toothy grin, and its eyes narrowed into blood red slits, hissing deeply with a menacing snarl, "_PLOWMM!_"

Allie only managed to widen her eyes and utter a shriek of alarm. This gave the ghost-like creature a chance to open its jaws at a fantastic size that threatened to consume the girl whole, and immediately moved its rows of fangs towards her. Allie stumbled back frantically just in time to see the large set of sharp teeth snap down inches from her face, narrowly missing the girl. Her choice of action however, caused her to slip back and fall into a ditch that laid behind her. She tumbled against the soft, muddy slope and landed in the thick murky water puddles that rested below.

Sitting up, Allie shook her head to relieve herself of her disoriented vision, but caught a glimpse of a pair of orange feet that seemed like her own. She wearily glanced up to where she fell, partly dizzy from the tumble. Her eyes widened in terror when she saw the Plowm floating down towards her with malicious intent as it let out a snarling cackle. The creature's appearance soon mutated into a more monstrous version of its former self, and that transformation prompted a terrified Allie to scurry along the trench to escape her pursuer. The Plowm issued a gargling bellow as it soared after the fleeing girl, its lolling tongue trailing behind it like a ribbon.

Allie darted frantically through the rain and mud, but was struggling to keep herself balanced for some odd reason. Suddenly she felt something slimey wrap around her body and lift her up into the moisty air. She was swung about, catching sight of the Plowm having constricted her with its long tongue and was now swinging her around, even drawing her close to its gaping, toothy jaws to intensify her fear as Allie screamed.

Unknown to Allie, the Plowm was merely toying with her, like a cat playing with its prey before eating it. Its saliva, combined with the rain, fortunately caused the Plowm to lose its grip on Allie, and she was sent flying through the air towards the other side of the ditch. As she neared the slope, she flailed her arms frantically to gain any of kind of footing to avoid falling back into the ditch where the Plowm was waiting for her below. Her claws managed to catch hold onto the plank of an old ladder that rested against the muddy wall of the slope.

"Dad...! Aiko...! Wake me up!" Allie cried loudly in pure terror as she desperately tried to claw her up the broken ladder, but the surface of the slippery planks made by the rain made it impossible. Down below, the Plowm simply floated to the side of the ditch while looking up at the girl, snarling with anticipation as it once again parted its jaws wide.

Allie glanced her frantic eyes down back in growing horror as the Plowm's mouth was about to consume her. "Get away...!" She cried out desperately. As the Plowm drew closer, a burst of green light emitted from the girl. The Plowm screeched in pain as it was repelled by the strange blast of light and reeled downwards towards the muddy depths of the ditch below. Confused by what had just happened, Allie quickly managed to gain a hold on the ladder she was holding onto, and with the help of the adrenaline currently pumping through her veins, she was able to climb out of the ditch.

As the Plowm painfully plunged into the dirt in a spray of mud and water, Allie had crawled out of the trench and looked back over her shoulder to where the creature was, but caught sound of something crumbling above her. She looked up in time to see a large, old tree, that was uprooted by the severity of the rainstorm, leaning off the end of a rocky ledge before her, crashing against the slope and barreling its way down towards her. With a shriek, Allie made a frantic leap for the side just as the tree, and some loose rocks, came crashing down heavily...

00000

For a brief moment, every sense had failed Aiko; she could neither move nor breathe. It felt as though her body had simply faded away, and only her mind remained. She was just beginning to wonder if this was death when a gentle breeze surrounded her. She rested atop of a cool, cushiony surface like moss, and the gentle warmth of sunlight carrassed her. Somewhere, a bird was singing nearby, and the rushing air of the wind blew around her. However, to her, it was odd. Back home, it was freezing cold, but where she is... it was unusually warm...

Suddenly, something sharp was poking at Aiko's head, followed shortly by a small, cowlike squeal. Aiko groaned, feeling the piercing headache shoot directly into her skull as she regained consciousness. She placed her hand on her forehead, and she struggled to sit up from her sprawled, lying position on her stomach. For some reason, she found this task difficult as she felt herself being unusually rounder than normal. Unsteadily, Aiko opened her eyes... only to realize that she was staring directly into the eyes and face of a round, red creature.

"Moo?" The red creature mewled, its big, blue eyes staring into the Aiko's.

"Aaaaaahh!" screamed Aiko loudly as she frantically backed away from the strange creature, still in her sprawled position in alarm and fright, her heart pounding. The red, round creature also cried loudly in alarm before running away from the startled girl until it disappeared into the bushes. The creature was completely round like a ball, its blue paws ending with three, white claws and its feet were flat and orange. Its ears were long like a rabbit's with the addition feature of a yellow ring of fur on each one, and a pair of round, blue paws were connected to its side. Despite its appearance, the rabbit-like creature was kind of cute.

Aiko panted heavily, startled by the encounter, but quickly calmed herself down with a few deep breaths before looking at her surroundings. She was laying in a bed of moss in the midst of a pine forest, the gigantic evergreens reaching up so hight that Aiko could hardly could see the tops. Where was she? Aiko wasn't at home, that's for sure. But how did she get way out here in the middle of a forest? As Aiko sat herself up, she slowly recalled Allie being grabbed by a large monster, and then she and Aiko were separated in some sort of tunnel...

Wait... Allie!

"Allie? Allie!" She called out, but received nothing but the faint calls of the wild.

Another splitting headache suddenly struck Aiko's head, forcing her to close her eyes as she placed her hand to her head to help soothe the pain. She forcefully opened one of her eyes when Aiko felt something strange about her fingers. They felt almost like... claws. Aiko moved her hand away to get a good look at it, and to her horror, she saw that instead of hands, she was looking at a cobalt blue, round paw with three, white claws that replaced her fingers. She looked at her other hand and saw that it was a blue paw as well!

"W-What...!" Aiko gawked, her eyes widening. She placed her hands (paws) to her head and felt that she now had long ears.

Deeply frightened by her animalistic features, Aiko gave out a small yell of fright. She frantically rolled to her feet, immediately discovering that they were now flat and orange. Terrified by her new appeared, she started stumbling around, "Wh-Wah!" Aiko fell forward, tripping on her own two feet.

In spite of her shock, Aiko's newfound ears perked up upon detecting the gurgling rush of running water nearby. Scrambling to her feet, she followed her ears and slowly came upon a river. While the wind was blowing gently, the trees on the river bank were lush and healthy as the water bubbled and churned over and around the rocks, shining crystal clear in the patches of the sun that shimmered through the canopy.

Aiko hurriedly ambled to the edge of the brook and looked down at her reflection in the water, shrieking loudly with alarm. The ten year old now saw herself as a blue and round, rabbit-like creature; a blue version to the red one she saw but slightly smaller. Her long ears each had a ring of yellow fur and her once brown eyes had turned into blank, green ones. Aiko raised a paw, brushing it against the spot where her nose should be. She felt nothing there, and the girl discovered that she had no longer had a nose.

"..." Aiko slowly collasped to the grass out of shock and disbelief. She laid there for quite a while as her eyes glimmered along with the sun's reflection on the water's surface. What had happened? But most importantly, where is she? Where was Allie...? _I must be having a really **really** weird dream... _She thought, closing her eyes as she brought her paws over to her head and brushed against her forehead to scratch away an itch.

A gunshot rang out nearby, startling Aiko as she turned towards the direction where the gunfire emitted from.

Gunshots come from guns. And when there are guns, especially in a forest area filled with animals...

"A hunter?" Aiko muttered, her eyes lit up with hope and her ears flicked up, "Maybe he can help me.." Without hesitation, she began making her way towards the source of the gunfire, all the while stumbling and tripping along the way. More gunshots rang out as she neared the source. Although quietly grumbling at her new form for making her fall numerous times as she ran, Aiko managed to reach the edge of the forest she was in and found herself staring at an amazing sight.

Before her was a large, lushful field littered with dandelions and buttercups while the wind blew westwards against them. A large windmill stood in the meadow, its mighty fans turning counter clockwise along with the wind. Aiko could see some sort a town nearby filled with hut-like houses, large and small, amongst the windy plains.

Another gunshot pierced the air, this time slightly louder than the last. Aiko flinched, startled by the sound, and immediately turned her head to where the gunshot emitted from. She sighted a couple of red creatures in the open field, the very same kind she had encountered minutes ago, wandering about aimlessly through the meadow. Suddenly, shots were fired and one of the creatures exploded into clouds of stars and dust, greatly startling Aiko as she emitted a small shriek. Soon, the same fate befell the other red creatures nearby, causing the girl to jump slightly with each gunshot that was fired. Someone was definitely shooting them.

Aiko glanced around until she spotted a figure walking through the plains. She figured that it was the hunter. But to her complete surprise, the hunter looked completely different than she had expected. The hunter was actually a humanoid, black and yellow wolf. A black ponytail whipped about behind the wolf's head, being blown around by the breeze. Cold, blue eyes scanned the meadow before him, spotting another pair of red, round creatures walking around. The wolf pointed a red gun marked with a yellow star and fired shots at the round creatures until they exploded into clouds of smoke and stars. Aiko once again jumped at the sight, shocked. She was now the same kind of species those creatures were, at least a younger and smaller version of them. And that hunter was killing them where they stood. If he saw her, then...

Suddenly, the wolf's ears twitched and he came to a stop. He turned his head, locking his sapphire eyes to Aiko. The girl immediately froze up and knew that the hunter had spotted her. Fear gripped Aiko as she kept eye contact with the wolf hunter, finding herself whimpering softly and trembling, her heart was even pounding in a fast rate. Her mind was racing on what she should do now that the hunter had seen her, dreading that he would most likely kill her on the spot like he did with the other creatures she had taken the form of.

When the wolf turned to fully face Aiko with his red gun in hand, the girl finally snapped out of fear's grip and scurried back into the cover of the woods, scared for her life. She bolted quickly, nearly stumbling on her newly orange, flat feet during her sprint. Her green eyes took several glances back, looking to see if the hunter was following her while she ran through bushes and other foliage that stood in her way.

_This is bad, this is bad! _Aiko thought, her mind being in a state of panic. As she looked back again to see if her pursuer was trailing her, the girl suddenly ran into something she failed to see and bounced back onto the grass with a moan. Aiko rolled herself to sit up straight, using her right paw to rub the aching spot on her forehead. She glanced up to what she had hit, only to widen her eyes in bewilderment.

Standing before her was a boy. Though what really shocked Aiko was when the boy turned his head to face her in response to the girl bumping into him.

The boy was another human-like animal, though this one possessed a face that resembled that of a feline's. Aiko couldn't tell if he was truly a cat or another kind of animal due to his long ears ending with five, white edges. He wore normal clothes that you'd expect a normal person would wear; a blue shirt and slightly darker blue shorts. Gripped in its yellow gloved, right hand was a large yellow ring with a green gem that gleamed vividly in the sunlight. Aiko continued staring up at the boy. At her current height, she was only around the size of his knees, and it was a little intimidating that he was much taller than her.

"A blue Moo...?" The boy wondered, eyeing Aiko curiously, vaguely seeing her blue fur coat. His voice sounded young, but slightly older.

Aiko only blinked, still staring up at the animal-like boy; her eyes widening even further when she heard him speak plain english. _A_ _talking animal boy_? Was she still dreaming...? She has to be.

Her ears then flicked up in alarm when the boy turned around fully and pointed his yellow ring at her, its emerald jewel shimmering by the sunlight. As Aiko stiffened with dread, the boy smiled somewhat apologetically, "Sorry, but we gotta clear this place up."


End file.
